Honeymoon Planning Go!

Eric has given me the go ahead to start planning and even booking our over due honeymoon. 

We've pretty much agreed on Peru for 5 days then Mexico for 3 nights and two days which is what we prayed about in the beginning! Not sure about the mission trip aspect though or the time. We are thinking May or September. 

So far the budget killer is the flight between Peru and Mexico. In fact the other two flights combined and doubled pretty much equal the leg between Peru and Mexico. Any creative ways to get cheap flights is always appreciated. Best of all JetBlue, my favorite airline, offers service to both Peru and Mexico for cheap!!

Wish me luck and give me advice.

Leaving Summer Behind

The first day of fall perpetually alludes me.

Mostly because its summer where I live all the time. "Winter" consists of about two weekends of high 40 something days where everyone dresses in parkas and flannel lined blue jeans. This is more wonderful than you can imagine but the downside to my summer paradise is that there is no autumn. Autumn is my absolute favorite. The leaves change (but not here) and the smell is perfect. There are pumpkins and boots and feasts and Halloween. Black Friday and pies. The corn maze and my anniversary. Everything seems kind of whimsical and magical. 

The only bad thing about autumn is that the days get shorter. ....Well I'm over that detail already.

And of course my favorite color pallets arrive.

The early fall color menu

Sinful Colors- Super Nova
Sephora by OPI-Break a Leg Warmer

Pure Ice- Taupe Drawer

Sinful Colors-Fig

Super Nova has stole my heart with its light rosy gold metallic finish. 

Break a leg warmer is one of those blue grays I've been obsessing over. Top coat required. 

Taupe Drawer looks pinker in real life than this picture but the dusky nature of this shade is so applealing.

Fig is just perfect for the in between of summer and fall its both vivid and deep. In real life I think it is a shade more purple and less pink tinged.

Disclaimer: The only picture that is mine is Fig. The others do not belong to me. You can find links to the sources on http://www.pinterest.com/tbeckwith89/on-the-shelf/.

Dupe Me: SC Mint Apple vs SC Open Seas

Now, I haven't heard anyone being concerned about the possibility of these two being similar but Sinful Colors has done some slightly shady dealing with repackaging colors that are almost certainly the same as cheaper versions of the same color.

Mint Apple is a dusty green/aqua polish with a microshimmer finish. The micro shimmer is green and faint pink. Seriously subtle and cannot be seen more than a few inches from the nail. Open Seas is a dusty green/aqua creme that dries surprisingly shiny.

They are the same color with a slightly different finish. Honestly you probably don't need both. Two of three roommates thought I was only wearing one color and the other one noticed only a faint difference in the finish.

Mint Apple was my preferred formula. It went on smoothly with no streaking. It was opaque with one coat. Open Seas was streaky during application and did not apply evenly. Two coats were applied. 

The first photo shows the biggest difference. In person there is not such a dramatic difference. I think the flash contributed to the contrast. In the second picture (without the flash) you can see a more natural look though my fingers do cast shadows on other nails.

For reference, the pinky and middle fingers are  Mint Apple. Open Seas is on my pointer and ring fingers. 

Sorry about my crappy cell phone pictures. Its all I have for the moment.

What's Been Going on in the Kitchen? Snack Edition

The usual disclaimers apply. I did not make the recipes or take the pictures.

I hope you don't have the munchies before reading this post because snackage is always tempting to me.

Snackage is a term coined by my beloved Jhoana so hands off.

These recipes are particularly satisfying.

The best way to start snack time is with a tall glass of lemonade. This is the best lemonade I've had. Maybe it's the added salt from the sweat from squeezing lemons but it's perfect.

Do yourself a favor and make this. I don't strain out the pulp and I use meyer lemons straight off my grandma's tree.

Here is the link:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-lemonade-ever/?scale=27&ismetric=0


You know what would be nice with a tall glass of lemonade?

A soft pretzel. I've tried a few recipes for this and had the best success with this one. I also let the dough rise in the sunshine.

Here is the link to the recipe:
http://www.smells-like-home.com/2012/01/soft-pretzel-bites-with-cheese-sauce/

I made the cheese sauce but did not like the flavor which is too bad because I really like cheese sauce.

Another variation I tried was rather than salt rolling them in cinnamon and sugar. This turned out to be a fantastic idea.


Now after that gluttony here is a recipe for granola bars. The only complaint I have about this is that they need more binder. I used a chocolate drizzle on the top which helped a lot (after frozen) but it was still missing that stick-together-bar type of form.

These were gobbled up in my house in two days.

Here is the recipe:
http://penniesandpancakes.blogspot.com/2012/09/no-bake-food-storage-granola-bars-005.html#.UgPN4JJOR8E



In other news I hope you are enjoying the new layout. It is better than the old even though my pictures aren't formated right on the page anymore. There are a couple things I wish I could change about the template like the column widths (picture formating driving me crazy) and the font colors but over all I am happy. I'd love any recommendations for a template site.

Faith Challenges

Honestly I do not have multiple personality disorder. My posts here would have you imagining otherwise because I jump from the totally superficial (read nail polish) to philosophical rants to experiments in  homemaking to professions of my love for Christ. 

A new challenge I am facing this year is my desire to be introverted to the extreme. I like going to church and serving and having fellowship but getting to that point requires a discipline that I am not familiar with using. I'd rather curl up on the couch and live stream service from my phone on Sunday morning, worship alone, and am not serving for a number of a reasons. It bothers me that I want to be like this. 

I know my relationship with the Lord is being strained because I am not giving of my time like I have been in the past. However I have a hesitation to compare myself to "how I was in the past". The ambiguous past had different circumstances. I had no responsibilities as a wife, no job, a flexible schedule. It would not physically be possible hold myself to such a schedule and commitment. That leaves me with a struggle to find the appropriate ruler to measure my progress. 

It's funny, comparing myself to my husband who is an extrovert when he goes into the social media world he cares how many people are paying him attention, what peoples opinions are, and the general reaction to his his information. I blog, facebook, and pinterest but comments and pageviews while nice are not motivating me. I am motivated by the desire to express myself and if no one paid one iota of attention that would be fine. For me it's the craft of writing, designing, thinking, and learning that entice me, the audience is just a side dish to the main course. (Not the dessert, the dessert is those completed projects with tangible results).

I would also like to note people are not the problem. I like to help people, I care deeply for my neighbors near and far, and praying for others is fulfilling and natural. However, I don't admire most people and because of that I also don't want to be around them 

So my prayer in this time is that God would allow vibrant, personal relationships to permeate my life. I am very thankful for my close friends that I go on wild and crazy adventures with but also let me be when I'm in such a closed off state. 

------Update: God answers prayer because last night He gave me an opportunity to be principled and connect with my friends. Score. Keep it up.

New Walmart Sinful Colors Display!

Walgreens and Rite Aid blew up in the last week or so with three new collections with a handfuls of new colors and re-releases. While walking around Walmart today I bumped into another new Sinful Colors display filled with LE colors not in the Country Chic, Glam Rock, and Heart and Soul collections..

The display was a mess in typical Walmart fashion but here are some pictures.

These are the long sides:

And the short sides were both the same:

Here are the LE shades I picked out that are not in the Walgreens/RiteAid stores:

And the names, which I realize now, are not properly oriented:

The shades pictured here are Genteel, Rain Storm, Lavender, Cool Gray, Dark Bronze, Open Seas, and Fig.

Also in the display was LE Just You Wait but not pictured. I already own Rain Storm and highly recommend it. I didn't own any of the others.

I purchased Open Seas, Fig, and Dark Bronze. I think I am most excited about the Dark Bronze and can't wait to swatch it with the August Collection.

I did a brief comparison of Open Seas and Mint Apple and while they are not dupes they are very similar the biggest difference is that Mint Apple has a barely there micro shimmer and Open Seas is a creme. The actual color looks the same. In a future post I will do a swatch comparison.

What is your experience with Sinful Colors?

Do you get just as excited as me to check out the LE and collections?

Happy Polish Hunting!

PS: Expect a lot more from me on Sinful Colors.

Great Shampoo, Great Sale

Fans of Biolage, Redken, Big Sexy Hair, Chi, and Kendra rejoice.

Ulta is having a great sale for these name brand shampoos. The liter size is $15.99. If you combine that with a $3.50 off of a $10 purchase you come up with a total price of $12.49.

Bonus, free pump with any liter purchase.

Sale valid July 27th.

From the Ulta website

Vegetable Garden

In my "Going Galt" post  I wanted to grow a garden.

Well I have. 

I highly recommend gardening. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and worth. I love the variety and when I need a vegetable, I go outside to get it. Not down the street, to the store that's at least 15 minutes away. I go to the back yard where I know the veggie wasn't grown in night water or sprayed with toxic chemicals. 

All the veggies were started from seeds except a couple of the herbs and one pepper plant.

This is one of the starter trays I had this year. I cut the bottom off water bottles to have extra starter homes.

These are the potatoes. They are doing wonderfully. This container should produce about 100lbs.

.

Here are some basil plants, parsley, rosemary, and oregano.

These are my peas. They did okay for a while but died after
 one harvest of pods.

My carrots have finally come around and now we
have tasty specimens.

Tomatoes ripening on the vine. My tomatoes this year were
excellent. The first generation got early and late blight
but still produced good fruit. The other generations had
 no problems.

 

This blueberry plant had three leaves on it when
I rescued it. I pruned it and it even gave me a handful
of berries this year. 

Here are some of my herbs. The mint is in the middle with 

basil, pineapple sage, and cilantro radiating out ward.

These are some peanut plants.

Here are some green beans and pea plants.

Song of Ice and Fire

This is the series most commonly know as "The Game of Thrones" by George RR Martin. I suppose it's a catchy title.

Like Atlas Shrugged, there is so much I wish to say, but do not know where to start. Atlas Shrugged would have sparked political heat so I'll defer until after the beginning of November, but I have not forgotten.

I have a no hold bars narrative here. Spoiler alert possible for anything up until a Dance with Dragons. Don't get too attached to the characters; this is the game of thrones and in the game of thrones you win, or you die.

In the beginning, the very beginning, before the book picked up it's story. There was a war that would shape future generations and bring about times so dire I cringe with thought. This was fought of a woman, most fittingly. A woman by the name of Lyanna Stark. Prince Rhaegar Targaryen has disappeared with her, though she was to marry Lord Robert Baratheon. Lyanna is wonderful, Robert Baratheon decides to go to war for her and for the deaths of the Lord Stark, her father and her brother Brandon. The King killed them when they got upset about the abduction of  Lyanna. While we are on the topic of King Aerys II Targaryen, lets note that he is a pyscho. This may be for many different reasons but I'm going to chalk it up to inbreeding. 

Long back story short, Robert Baratheon and Ned (younger brother to Brandon) Stark take names, kick butt, and win the rebellion. Robert Baratheon becomes the king and marries Cersie Lannister. Wait! Wait a minute! Wasn't there a war just fought for the right to marry Lyanna Stark? Why yes there was, but right after the war Lyanna dies of a cold or something silly like that.  Keep in mind all of this happens before the books even begin. Martin of course does a beautiful job writing in little bits here and little bits there. Enough to keep you in the dark but enough to let you know that there is a huge picture you are not really seeing. 

Now, let's be serious, the above isn't really that good of a story, but what follows is. This series is not a tale of one man or woman. It's narrative is diverse, many characters weave their tales together to form one epic. The first book alone is narrated by 9 different characters. 

Before we get into all of that lets try to keep everyone straight from the beginning. In this fantasy land there are 9 Family Houses and a group called the Night's Watch. There is also the Dorkathi, a nomadic group.

The Houses include:

Baratheon

Targaryen

Stark

Lannister

Tully

Arryn

Greyjoy

Martell

Tyrell

The Night's Watch is a group of men that have taken life vow to protect the realm of Westeros at frozen wasteland called the Wall.

Our story actually begins north of the Wall with a ranging group scouting out the activities of the savage Wildings. The rangers of the Night's Watch come across from freaky undead people with creepy blue eyes. They are referred to later as "the Other's." The rangers are not particularly note worthy, the Other's kill all except one. The one that escapes is beheaded in the next chapter by Ned Stark for breaking his vow. You see in Ned Stark's nobleness, "the mouth passes the judgement must also wield the sword." Think about that in awe for a moment and mourn that men like these are few and far between.

After this action the Ned Stark and his children, plus others find these cute little direwolf puppies. One for each of Ned Stark's 5 children and his bastard. Two notes, one direwolves are rare, especially south of the Wall and two bastards (can't believe I'm using that word!!!!!) are treated completely unequal to their legitimate counterparts. Ned is a rare man that has his is being cared for and living his his children. 

So as the story progresses and we are introduced to the children ages about 14-2 we start to gravitate to Ned Stark as the typical poster boy for the role as the "main character." He's put in a lot of tough spots, he has more honor than anyone we've met so far, and he's a very good father and ruler of his northmen. The children from oldest to youngest are Robb, Jon Snow (bastard), Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. His wife Catelyn is also important, she is strong and independent but everything is motivated to protect her children. This ends up as a surprise because in the beginning of the book she sits doing nothing for three weeks next to her child in a coma.

Now, keep in mind I've given you a wealth of information about the characters and the land. Martin did not spend narrative explaining customs. You just figured it out as went along, with exception of the Dorkathi which is explained when a curious foreign girl asks question about them. That alone makes Martin a genius.

Now before we get off onto the main action of the story. Let's put some names to faces (Yeah that's right! There is a TV series about this, which is only okay. But I love the way the characters look, even if most of them look too old.)

Eddard (Ned) Stark

Catelyn Stark

Jon Snow (If he's 14, I'm a monkey's uncle.)

Robb Stark (14? I think not!)

Sansa Stark

Arya Stark

Bran Stark

Rickon Stark (doesn't come into play often)

Simple enough, but that doesn't include any supporting characters or any of the other houses, and there are many.

So right after Ned beheads the traitor, he goes to pray in the godswood. While there his quaint wife brings news that the king is coming to Winterfell (where they live) and Jon Arryn has died. Arryn his second bff. His first bff would be the king.

So the king brings his wife and children. Queen Cersie has two brothers as well, her twin brother Jaime and a dwarf, Tryion. Jaime is called the Kingslayer, after killing the Aerys, the king he was sworn to protect. The children, oldest to youngest are Joffery, Marcella, and Tommen. Joffery is 12 in the beginning.

Complicated enough? Not really. This is about the first 30 pages of 600.

This is a world that doesn't have back story. It has history. Seriously, I'm sure there are super nerds out there that could write out the history of Westeros and such. And just like real history there are slight variations and skepticism to what is real and what is fiction. Martin is that good.

So maybe in the next post we can talk about the rest of the book. Or another house. Or you can comment that you just don't care and I'll stop writing about this fun series that you should really give a try.

Lovely Summer Nail Polishes

Officially summer time. Beaches, sand, breezes, and activities to boot.

Love it, especially when I was younger. I also love exploring the feel of the season. 

The cheapest update to a look is nail polish. I buy mine at $2.00 a pop. My favorite brands are Sinful Colors and Pure Ice by Bari Cosmetics.

My favorite go to accent right now is Pure Ice Spitfire. It's glitterly and has great application. It goes with pretty much everything. I mostly use it on my "ring" finger nails. 

I highly recommend this polish as an accent.

For a work friendly polish I like Sinful Colors Easy Going. The color looks good with my pale skin tone. I pair it with Spitfire. The application is a bit uneven but manageable.

For the patriotic summer holidays I'll be sporting Freedom from Pure Ice.

I love blue nail polish. Blue nail polish cracks me and makes me buy it. I'm going to highlight two blues. Pure Ice Splash and Love Nails from Sinful colors. The brightness of these blues puts a smile on my face. I like the brightness of Love Nails for the beach/parties and Splash for long term application as I feel it has a hint of neutrality that could be paired with jeans, skirts, or work wear. 

 

There are a lot of vivid colors in vogue and these are the shades I have that are screaming, "wear me! It's summer." The first is Island Coral from Sinful Colors. I don't like pink a whole lot but this orange/corally pink makes me smile and goes with my lobster shirt. The next color is from Pure Ice called Excuse Me. Now let's be clear, I don't wear yellow nail polish. In fact this is the only yellow color I own because yellow nails are sickly nails and normally considered "gross". This yellow is so vibrant there is no mistaking it for nasty nails. I still only wear it as an accent. The last color is also from Pure Ice called Saddle Me Up. It looks like a sparkly version of my watermelon growing in my backyard.

One day I'll take my own pictures, but until then enjoy these from other blogs. C'est la vie. 

Until next time when I might actually get to have access to my garden pictures. But probably not.